This Charming Man... (Llandegla Web-edit)

We didn't take a still camera with us yesterday at Llandegla - but we did take my aging Sony MiniDV Camcorder and grabbed some dusty singletrack footage :)

Llandegla Wideopen Web-edit from James Hilton on Vimeo.

I think we all enjoyed the ride - I certainly found that although the Superstar wheels are heavier than the XC setup I had previously they do add to the bikes handling at speed. I'll need to re-tune my forks a little though as the increase in unsprung mass was making them a little quick in places :)

We'll be back out in Macc next Thursday night - and there will be another afternoon blast somewhere in July - probably Lee and Cragg quarry, again with the video! :)

Llandegla la la la...

Sat in the pub with Jamie, Jim and Jon after a great ride at Llandegla. Awesome! Twisty, dry, grippy, ripped up though! Burger on the way, good times.

James
Producer - Wideopenmag.co.uk

Sent from my Three mobile

Off we go...

... to Llandegla to meet up with Jamie and Jim from Wideopen. Report later!

James
Producer - Wideopenmag.co.uk

Sent from my Three mobile

Foot out, arse over... tit!

After last week we've had a little rain so tonights exploring of the new trails we discovered last week was 'interesting' to say the least.

The original route is slippery as hell and the corners are a combination of great fun and fear mixed together. No ones tyres had ANY grip, clinging on for dear life and then releasing the brakes for the next straight, great fun and grins all over. We scoped out some alternative routes before realising the mega steep bits are a necessary evil really, there is no way of avoiding them... still good fun.

Grabbed a few snaps (below) and good banter this evening. Good to see Jon back out on the bike!

Macclesfield exploring 10/6/2010

Steep dark and fast...

From Macclesfield singletrack downhill - 3/6/10

Another week and first up my heartfelt apologies to the guys - I was 30 mins late tonight! I hate keeping people waiting - it won't happen again.

So with the injection of fresh blood the Fearingout weekly ride is really taking on a new vibe - it's excellent and finding new stuff in the forest is igniting everyone's passion for riding.

Tonight, the track that Pete showed us last week was the target so we climbed up Nessit Hill. None of us really new what to expect - Pete's description was pretty vague 'ace up top, then some shit steep bits that are pretty much do or die' - so I grabbed some photos just into the tree line (see below) and then followed them down. The surface was loose but the corners were well established and tyre treads dug in nicely to the soil surface - great fun once you found the flow, leant in and got your foot out - speed crept up really quickly! Then the steep scary bits - and yeah, we all pushed or crashed - by the end of the summer hopefully we'll have it licked! The think that struck me was how much bang you got for your buck, a really decent length track, good fast twisty singletrack and a fresh challenge!

We then rode back up to Standing Stone and did the other woodsy singletrack that was bone dry and insanely quick - I loved every second - it feels so good to be hammering through the rough stuff hanging on to the bike before throwing it into the corners... it may be familiar but it's still every bit as exciting as the first time I rode it 2 or 3 years ago!

So onwards and upwards. Here's to a fantastic summer of riding in Macclesfield!

Macclesfield singletrack downhill - 3/6/10

Elly's new bike...

Had a lovely family day with Elly and Cathy, headed down to Ludlow to pick up Elly's new bike. It's an Isla (www.islabikes.co.uk) Cnoc 14, and it's a present for her birthday. She's still a little small for it but it's love at first sight, she's so excited and has had me helping her around Mum and Dad's garden. It's pretty cool, nice and light, kids brake levers, cranks and pedals and nifty steering that won't turn all the way around!

So off road riding might be a year or so away - even so the next few months are going to be loads of fun!

Hopefully will get a review up in Wideopen (www.wideopenmag.co.uk) after a few months use.

James
Producer - Wideopenmag.co.uk

Sent from my Three mobile

Two days running...

This week's been 'mega' (my new favourite catch phrase).

Riding at Lee Quarry, and visiting Cragg Quarry with Great Rock's Ed Oxley was 'mega'. The trails were great fun and Jon and I are itching to get back to Cragg with a video camera. Kev came along, as did Dunc on photo duty - we're doing an article for the next Wideopen. Ed was a super nice guy, really chilled out, easy to talk to and did a great job guiding us around. Well worth a call if you fancy a decent training session or guide. The new trails were great fun too and you can see the Welsh influences with the 'mega' berms - and lots of them. Great fun!

Tonight out again, Macclesfield Forest, and Kev and I both out again - that's every week for us two still! Joined by Tony, Pete and another new comer - Pete (on the lovely white Commencal Meta 4). We did Charity Lane, Bottom of the Oven, then rode around the bridleway (where Pete showed us another hidden trail dissappearing off into the gloom) before ragging down the new singletrack and push up trail back to the cars.

Twice in one week is great fun!
I'll get some teaser snaps from Dunc and the Cragg Quarry trip later this week :)

Macclesfield 27/05/10

And now for something completely different...

Tonight was completely different for two reasons...
First up Kev and I headed out from HOME at 6.30pm (instead of straight from work) and second, we rode up Nessit Hill rather than Charity Lane...

Why?

From Macclesfield DH 20/05/10

Because Kev mentioned speaking to a few of the DH club a week or so ago and being shown one of the older courses, less extreme, that scooted down to the push up track and we both decided it was worth a further look...

From Macclesfield DH

So what did we find? Some good quality, twisty, technical singletrack! Result!
Great fun and we rode it three times, sessioning the third for a few snaps with the iPhone. Shame we didn't have a proper camera... and typically on his last run Kev got a puncture. Oh well! Lovely evening weather wise and a good ride... can't wait to show Jon next week!

Next Wednesday we're off to Lee Quarry at lunchtime for a ride around with Ed Oxley. Good stuff!

Macclesfield DH

A shot in the arm...

A lovely evening tonight and after a good day in work after a shit few weeks the Thursday night ride is an awesome shot, condensed dose of adrenaline and tonight was no exception!

Full sus and full face for me tonight and I was joined by Tony, Pete and Kev. Usual route and it was dry as a bone and almost too easy on the Coiler! I was getting tired pedalling downhill! We did bottom of the oven which really showed to me how much more stable the big bike is in the steep loose stuff. Then on to the grand finale and a fantastic mega dry mega quick blast down the singletrack! The full sus full face combo had me accelerating like I had an engine! Incredible fun!

Next week new route.

Now off for a curry and a beer or two! Lovely!

James

Producer - Wideopenmag.co.uk

Sent from my Three mobile

And then there were two...

Great ride tonight - just the two of us as Kev and I headed up for the usual route. Not much to say other than the climb was a good chance to catch up, Charity Lane was dry and fast, Bottom of the Oven was loose and sketchy and the singletrack rooty and fun.

We promised that next week we'd try something different - well maybe not next week, but soon!

In other news - checked out my Coiler Dee-lux tonight - and the gears are fine so will not change the cable just yet - but the bottom bracket is loose - so it's either a new one or a chance to upgrade? SLX? Saint? or another RaceFace? I do like the RaceFace Evolve XC - it's forged, light, stiff and stylish!

Scotland and Lee Quarry planning next week so keep your eyes on your inbox!